Three Plus Two
by upsidedownbutterfly
Summary: Three times Sam and Galen have sex plus two additional kisses. Sam/Galen slash. Takes place in a slightly AU setting where Nicky actually is Galen's son and Sam makes it through the mutiny in one piece. Spoilers through "Daybreak, Part I".


Title: Three Plus Two  
Author: upsidedownbutterfly  
Summary: Three times Sam and Galen have sex plus two additional kisses. Sam/Galen slash. Takes place in a slightly AU setting where Nicky actually is Galen's son and Sam makes it through the mutiny in one piece. Spoilers through "Daybreak, Part I".  
Rating: PG-13 to _very_ light R  
Disclaimer: They're not mine, people.

* * *

The first time it happens, they're drunk. It's Sam's birthday – at least according to his service file anyway – and they've been at Joe's Bar since they both got off their duty shifts, downing shot after shot as if the alcohol could somehow fill the void inside them where their souls should be.

They stumble back to Galen's quarters together, holding each other upright and deliberately ignoring the _happy birthdays_ shouted by well-meaning crewmates who couldn't see the knife their words were twisting in Sam's heart. It takes Galen four tries to open the hatch and the two of them all but fall across the threshold when he finally succeeds.

Sam's not sure what he's thinking when he kisses Galen. Sam's still married to Kara, no matter how frakked up their relationship has become, and Galen, in his own way, is still mourning Cally. It's stupid, it's reckless, and it's a mistake they'll both regret in the morning. But it's also _real_ in a way Sam isn't sure anything about his life is anymore.

They barely make it to the bed, Galen tumbling backwards, pulling Sam down with him in an inelegant tangle of naked limbs. It's short and messy and tinged with desperation and despair, but when it's over, Galen whispers, "Happy birthday," into his ear, and Sam almost believes it.

* * *

Sam sleeps in Galen's quarters some nights after the whole secret cylon thing blows up in their faces just like they'd always known it would. He tries not to make a habit of it, but some nights when the harassment from his bunkmates becomes too much and all Sam wants is a few precious hours of uninterrupted sleep, he sneaks away to Galen's bed.

It's completely platonic, until one morning it isn't. Sam wakes up sprawled across Galen with something hard digging into his thigh, and when he look up at Galen, he finds the other man gazing back at him wearing an expression of careful neutrality. Sam kisses him slowly and Galen doesn't pull away.

It's gentler this time, almost lazy, and quieter too by the necessity of Nicky asleep just meters away. When they're done, they dress quickly and head off to their respective duty shifts, barely exchanging a dozen words between them.

Sam goes back to sleeping in his bunk every night afterwards. It's not because he feels guilty; Kara hasn't spoken to him in months and realistically Sam knows his marriage was over long before his secret came out. He tells himself it's because he needs to stop hiding and face his crewmates, but deep down he suspects it's because this _thing_ he has with Galen scares him more than anything a bunch of vindictive pilots could ever do or say.

* * *

_Galen_. It's the first thing Sam thinks when he wakes up in the brig with the Six kneeling over him dabbing at his bloodied face. His worry only escalates once the Agathons are dragged in after him. He tries not to think about what it means as the hours tick by and Galen hasn't been brought to join them, but he knows that the odds are better that Galen's already dead than somehow eluding the mutineers.

Which is why when they find him and Nicky alive and whole in the stronghold of Baltar's little cult, Sam can't stop himself from hauling Galen behind the nearest stack of crates and fusing their mouths together. He doubts he would have even been able to stop there if Helo hadn't poked his head around the boxes before vanishing just as quickly with a flustered assurance that they wouldn't be interrupted again.

They laugh breathlessly at that, foreheads resting against each other. "I tried to warn you," Galen says, voice low. "But you were on CAP and I couldn't get a message and I needed to get Nicky somewhere safe." Sam just nods and kisses him again. All that matters is that right now they're both alive, and they need to focus on saying that way.

* * *

Sam volunteers to fly Galen to the _Rising Star_ to drop Nicky off with the Seklirs. Sam tries to talk him out of it – out of going on this suicide mission after Hera in the first place – but Galen feels responsible, and Sam can't really argue with that no matter how much he wants to.

The husband is clearly uncomfortable with welcoming a half-cylon child into his home, but the wife relents with a tearful smile as soon as Galen tells her that Cally had asked for them by name before she died. Susan sees them off with feigned optimism and false promises of a happy reunion as if everyone but the baby didn't know that this mission was all but guaranteed to be a one-way trip.

Sam's halfway through the launch prep in his borrowed raptor when Galen's mouth is suddenly on his and Galen's hands are digging beneath his flight suit with an intensity Sam's never felt from him before. There are a thousand and one things Sam wants to say as Galen presses him back into the pilot's seat, but he knows that none of them are what Galen needs to hear right now so he bites his tongue and Galen's shoulder and tries his best not to give voice to the emotion burning in his chest.

* * *

The flight deck is aflurry with last minute activity. Sam was supposed to be in Sharon's raptor five minutes ago, but something in him that Sam's afraid to name is telling him that he needs to see Galen one last time before he goes.

He finds him in the far corner of the deck, barking a final set of orders at Figurski. Their eyes meet as he approaches and for a moment, they're simply staring at each other, barely even registering when Figurski seizes the opportunity to clear out. Then Sam steps closer, bringing his hand up to brush against Galen's cheek. "If we don't come back –" he begins but Galen grabs him by the front of his tactical vest and silences him with a kiss.

There are tears pricking at Sam's eyes when they break apart, and he can't stop the words that tumble from his lips: "I love you." Galen's eyes widen at the admission, but Sam covers his mouth with his fingers before the other man can respond. "Don't," he says. "Don't say anything. You don't have to. I think I just needed you to know."

"Sam," Galen rasps, but Sam kisses him back into silence.

"I have to go," he says when they separate for the second time, but as he turns to leave, Galen catches his hand.

"When you get back…" Galen says before trailing off, but Sam doesn't need him to finish the thought. He squeezes Galen's hand once and lets go.

"I know," he says.


End file.
